Halogenation of polymers and terpene resins has been known in the prior art for some time. For example, David W. Young and Harris D. Hineline in U.S. Pat. No. 2,406,575 disclosed treatment of various polymers with chlorinating agents such as AlCl.sub.3, SnCl.sub.4, and PCl.sub.5 gave rise to chlorinated cyclized polymers useful as lubricants. The PCl.sub.5 treatment of a cyclized alloocimene polymer was claimed to give chlorination. Although some chlorination of olefins can occur with PCl.sub.5, it is mainly utilized for other purposes such as the formation of acid chlorides or as a Lewis acid as reported in Reagents for Organic Synthesis by L. F. Fieser and M. Fieser, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1967, pp 866-870.
Typically when polymers are chlorinated, chlorine gas either used alone or in solution is employed. For example, Paul T. Parker and Fred J. Buchmann in U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,174 disclose the chlorination of a poly(isobutylene) copolymer by adding chlorine gas to the polymer at 30.degree. C. in a Pfaudler reactor.
A novel class of highly unsaturated poly(alloocimene) is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 919,884 filed Oct. 16, 1986.